- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 10 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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5 out of 8 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Great screen, very poor UI and usability"
Pros: Bright screen, great video resolution, feature-full (on the surface)
Cons: Poor touch interface, hidden/poorly organized features, poor WiFi portal
Summary: I bought the 605 WiFi based on the CNET review and after using it for a couple of days, I'm very disappointed in the product.
The main problem (and, in hindsight, an aspect not covered at all by the CNET reviewer) is that the user interface is terrible. Touch buttons are all different sizes. Some functions you can do via touch, some with the dedicated keys, and some with both. You have to double-click in order to select an item with the touch interface, and who would realize you have to click "X" in the corner in order to simply go back a level in the interface? (Windows user would, I suppose.) The options for each app are communicated by tiny indecipherable buttons. And the touch interface itself is not very responsive at times (which, combined with the need to double-click some times, but not others -- makes you never sure if the unit heard you or not). I could go on and on -- have the reviewers never tried an iPhone to see what a real touch interface should work like?
Unit itself has a nice form factor and a beautifully sized screen, but the overall fit and finish is a bit lacking. For example, the dedicated buttons don't have a very nice feel to them (and their poor arrangement is another usability issue).
After using the unit for a day or so, it started trying to get a software update, but if I used the unit, it kept having problems with the WiFi connection dropping. Finally I left it untouched for an afternoon and it succeeded. (In other words, you can't use the product while software is downloading in the background.)
Tried to register for downloading content from the WiFi portal -- it was pretty confusing to get registered, and I think when I finally entered my credit card to start downloading something, something went wrong and I would have had to start over again, so I never bothered.
On the positive side, the screen is very nice and videos look pretty good once you manage to get content onto the device.
As a music player, though, it took way too many taps to get it to play a song. And when I accidentally copied over some songs with DRM (I have subscriptions to Rhapsody and Yahoo music services), it just silently refused to play. There should have been some sort of error dialog at a minimum. Don't know if it's supposed to be Plays4Sure compatible or not...
Overall, this product has great "specs", but in everyday use, the usability is poor.
If all you want to do is copy some video content onto it and watch it on the plane, I suppose it's fine.
But if you expect this product to "just work" and fit seamlessly in your life as a WiFi-enabled portable music and video player, the implementation is half-baked.
Where to buy
Archos 605 WiFi (4GB):
$155.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$155.00 | Yes |
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